Effects of Paecilomyces tenuipes-inoculated brown rice combined with fermented oak sawdust on the developmental growth of Protaetia brevitarsis larvae

Protaetia brevitarsis is an edible insect registered as an alternative food ingredient by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Herein, we investigated the effects of Paecilomyces tenuipes on diseases reported in the larvae of edible insects with the aim of improving the productivity of larvae by promoting their development and enhancing their disease resistance. P. tenuipes exhibits several biological and pharmaceutical properties. We developed the feed for P. brevitarsis larvae with fermented oak sawdust combined with P. tenuipes-inoculated brown rice. The larval group that reared on feed combined with P. tenuipes showed a 6.5-fold increase in weight and 5-fold increase in survival rate against Metarhizium anisopliae relative to that seen with the controls. The nutrient composition of this feed formulation was 2.37 times higher in crude protein than in the other feed types, including the control. Our results suggest that P. tenuipes-inoculated brown rice can be used to increase larval weight and promote disease resistance, thereby potentially reducing the prevalence and severity fungal disease caused by M. anisopliae.